A great way to celebrate fall is by tasting the specialty autumn flavors that Auburn offers. From sweet pumpkin desserts at coffee shops to hearty dinners at local restaurants, Auburn has no shortage of foods to celebrate the season.
Southern Greens
Located on North College Street, Southern Greens Cafe and Market have added fall flavors to every section of their menu. Since the restaurant’s grand opening in September, Southern Greens has quickly become well known for their customizable meals and “take and bake” dishes.
Until Dec. 1, Southern Greens will be offering harvest squash soup and roasted winter veggie salad. The sandwiches on the fall menu include the weekender, filled with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, garlic rosemary aioli and whipped cheese spread, millionaire grilled cheese, mac n cheese bacon bread bowl and roasted veggie quesadilla.
“It’s [the weekender] basically Thanksgiving in a sandwich,” said general manager Sommer Pope.
As the sister store of the bakery Boulangerie, Southern Greens also offers a few baked goods as well. Pumpkin spice rolls, apple crumble bars and pumpkin cheesecake muffins are available throughout the season.
Beignets and Brew
Beignets and Brew is another new business in Auburn. The bakery opened on March 29, right across the street from Southern Greens. For the fall season, Beignets and Brew is serving pumpkin Biscoff beignets, made of Biscoff cookie butter, cinnamon powder and pumpkin icing.
“My favorite item on the menu is the bite-size beignets. The beignets are cut up into quarters, making twenty four in total,” said general manager Noah Calvert. “We can make our seasonal beignets bite size-too. It’s really nice.”
In addition to their regular fall menu, Beignets and Brew is also offering a limited time Halloween menu. Available only from Oct. 22 to Oct. 31, Beignets and Brew is serving mummy beignets. These beignets are wrapped in icing “bandages” and adorned with candy eyes.
The Depot
The Depot, located on Mitcham Avenue, is also offering an extensive fall menu. Their seasonal soup contains locally foraged lion’s mane mushrooms, shiitake, Wagyu and puff pastry fleurons. The autumn cyprus harvest salad is loaded with seasonal vegetables including roasted butternut squash, brussels petals and sliced kalamatas.
For main courses, The Depot is also serving a burrata and biscuit platter, as well as seared salmon with rice and roasted root vegetables. The burrata and biscuit platter contains baby arugula, crispy prosciutto, spiced pear pomegranate verjus and house made biscuit fry bread.
Well Red
Well Red, a local cafe bookstore, has an affinity for cinnamon and pumpkin flavored fall treats. With three locations, including Well Red, Well Red: Second Story and The Fox, customers can indulge in specialty fall items at any of the locations.
Their loaves of pumpkin bread include flavors of cinnamon and clove, and the pumpkin pie bars are made with gluten-free chocolate crust and topped with a cinnamon whipped cream. If guests are not fond of pumpkin, Well Red is also offering cinnamon scones and their new gingersnap cookies.
Dani's Cheesecake
For something that can last through the autumn season, Dani's Cheesecake has the answer. These no-bake cheesecakes in a jar have a shelf life of six to nine months in the freezer. This business was born out of Opelika, Alabama, in 2020, and although they mostly take orders through their website, they also make appearances at food-truck events. The cheesecakes are also sold locally in Pepper Tree Steaks and Wine and Grandma Val's Lemonade.
To welcome the fall season, Dani’s Cheesecake has introduced seasonal flavors such as turtle, Biscoff, pumpkin spice, peach cobbler and sweet potato soufflé.
“Most of my fall flavors were requested by my customers,” said owner Danielle Moore. “My absolute favorite is sweet potato soufflé. It comes with a buttery blonde crumble, crunchy pecans and a creamy sweet potato cheesecake.”
Whether you have a sweet tooth for baked goods or enjoy the flavors of autumn vegetables, these businesses offer plenty of fall foods to choose from. While exploring Auburn and Opelika this season, be sure to try these limited-time items.
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Layla Hyatt, sophomore double majoring in journalism and public and professional writing, is from Mobile, Alabama. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since the fall of 2025.
